Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.

Prof, VEC
INTRODUCTION

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
 INTRODUCTION
THREE PHASE DIAGRAM

AIR Air
WATER

Water

SOIL Solid

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

 MASS AND VOLUME IN PHASE DIAGRAM

Va Air Wa~0
Vv

Vw
Water Ww
VT WT

Vs Solid Ws

Volume Weight

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

To compute the masses or weights and volumes of the
three different phases

Va Wa= 0
air
Notation
Vv
 W =Weight Vw water Ww
 V = volume
 s = soil V
grains
 w = water
 a = air Vs soil Ws
v = voids

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Basic definitions

WW Expressed as percentage.
 Water content w Range = 0 – 100+%.
WS
M
 Density  gm/cm3
V
 Unit Weight W
 KN/m3 γ = ρ×g
Where g = 9.81
V
 Specific Gravity
Density of Material 
G  
Density of Water w varies between 2.6 and 2.8.
Unit Weight of Material 
G  
Unit Weight of Water w
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
DEGREE OF SATURATION

The degree of saturation, S, Vw Vw

has an important influence on S 
soil behavior,It is defined as Va Vw Vv
Expressed as percentage.
Dry

Range: 0
100%

Vw Vw
S 
e = w G/S Fully
Saturated

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

 Voids ratio & Porosity

 It is not the actual volumes that are important but rather the ratios
between the volumes of the different phases. This is described by
the voids ratio (e) porosity (n), and the degree of saturation (S).

Vv
 The voids ratio is defined as e 
Vs
 and the porosity as Vv
n 
V
The relation between these quantities can be simply
determined as follows
Vs = V - Vv = (1 - n) V
Hence
Vv Vv n
e   
Vs ( 1  n )V 1  n
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Unit Weights
 The bulk unit weight
W  w Gs Vs   w e S Vs  w ( Gs  e S )
 bulk   
V Vs  eVs 1 e
 The saturated unit weight (S = 1)
 ( Gs  e)
  w

1  e
sat

 The dry unit weight (S = 0)

 Gs
  w

1  e
dry

 The submerged unit weight

 '   sat   w
 Note that γdry < γbulk< γsat
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
INDEX PROPERTIES

 WATER CONTENT
 SPECIFIC GRAVITY
 FIELD DENSITY
 PARTICLE SIZE
DISTRIBUTION
 CONSISTENCY LIMITS
 RELATIVE DENSITY

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Water content-oven drying method

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Rapid moisture meter or calcium
carbide method

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

 ( W2 – W 1 )

(W2 – W1 ) - ( W3 – W4 )

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

DETERMINATION OF
FIELD DENSITY BY
CORE CUTTER

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Sand Replacement method

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Sieve analysis

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

 Boulders >200 mm
 Cobbles 63-200 mm
 Gravels >4.75mm
 Sands 4.75-0.075mm
 Silts 0.002-0.075 mm and
 Clay <0.002mm
1.Sieve analysis
Gravel: Retained on 4.75 mm size sieve
Sand: Passing thro 4.75 mm and
retained on 0.075mm
2.Sedimentation analysis
 Soil passing thro 0.075 mm sieve

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Sieve Analysis

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
HYDROMETER

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION CURVE

GAP GRADED (P) WELL GRADED (W)

100
Percent finer by wt.

Sand (S)
Silt (M)
50
Gravel (G)

0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Grain diameter (mm)

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION CURVE

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Particle Size
Distribution Terms

P - Poorly graded
(uniform sizes)

W - Well graded
Good mix of sizes

P - Poorly graded
Missing range of sizes

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

CONSISTENCY LIMITS
Defining water contents

1. LIQUID PHASE

- fluid, low shear resistance

2. PLASTIC PHASE

- easily moulded

3. SOLID PHASE

- strong, resists deformation

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
ATTERBERG LIMITS

liquid (thick butter milk)

Liquid limit
Plasticity
Index plastic (butter)

Plastic limit
semi-solid (cheese)
Shrinkage limit
solid (hard candy)

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
LIQUID LIMIT AND PLASTIC LIMIT

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

CASAGRANDE LIQUID LIMIT APPARATUS

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
LIQUID LIMIT AT 25 BLOWS

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

DETERMINATION OF PLASTIC LIMIT

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
SHRINKAGE LIMIT APPARATUS

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Formulae

 Plasticity index Ip  wl  wp
wl  w
 Consistency index Ic 
Ip
w  wp
 Liquidity index IL 
Ip
w1  w 2
If 
 Flow index n1
log
n2

 Toughness index Ip
IT 
If
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Formulae

w


s   w1
V 1  Vd w 

 Shrinkage limit  Wd 

 V 1Vd 
  d
 Shrinkage ratio SR 
 Vd 
w w  100 
1 s
w

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Formulae

 Volumetric shrinkage VS  w1  ws SR

  100  
 Linear Shrinkage Ls  1001  3  
  VS  100  

1
 Specific gravity G
 w ws 
 d  100 
 
 
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
 Do not try to Memorize the equations, and the
definitions.
Develop the relations from the phase diagram
and basic formula
 Assume G (2.6-2.8) when not given;
 Do not confuse with densities and unit weights
 Unit weight of water w  9.81 KN m 3

 Conversion factor – density to unit weight = 9.81

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Classification

Indian Standard Soil Classification System(IS 1498-1970)

Soils are classified on basis of parameters which influence their engineering
properties Coarse grained soils (gravels and sands) classified on basis of grain
size characteristics
Fine-grained soils (silts and clays) classified on basis of plasticity characteristics.
Symbols: Modifiers:
G Gravel Coarse grained
W Well Graded
S Sand P Poorly Graded
M silt H High Plasticity
C Clay Fine grained L Low Plasticity
O Organic I Medium Plasticity
Examples:
GW Well-graded gravel SP Poorly-graded (uniform) sand
MH Highly plastic silt CL Low plasticity clay
GM Silty gravel

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

I.S Soil Classification

To determine W or P, calculate Cu and Cc

D60
Cu 
D10

D302
Cc 
( D60  D10 )
For Gravel
For Well graded Use W when Cu > 4 and Cc is between 1- 3
otherwise use Poorly graded P
For Sand
For Well graded Use W when Cu > 6 and Cc is between1- 3
otherwise use Poorly graded P

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC

Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Class Primary Characteristic A-line Secondary
symbol position symbol

CLAY C Low plasticity above L

LL < 35%
Med. plasticity above I
35 < LL < 50%
High plasticity above H
LL > 50%
SILT M Low plasticity below L
LL < 50%
High plasticity below H
LL > 50%
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC
Dr.T.Revathee, Asso.Prof, VEC